Skeletons From The Closet - April Results - Agfa Solinette II

April's SFTC camera was the Agfa Solinette II.

 

(Click Here) to read about my Solinette.

 

So, how did it go? Honestly, I'm getting tired of guess focusing. My last two SFTC cameras - the Zeiss Ikonta folder and April's Solinette are both guess focus cameras. It can be fun and refreshing to work without a rangefinder or through the lens focusing. However, I did come up with several images with both cameras that were just not quite sharp enough. That's frustrating, especially when I can see how good it could've been.

 

Here are some more images that I shot with the Solinette.

 

Spring is Here!, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

You may recognize the house below from one of my pinhole posts.

 

(Click Here) to see how it looks in black and white through my pinhole camera.

 

Thornton House, Manassas National Battlefield, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

Here's a quick grab shot of an early spring barbecue in preparation. I really like how the color in this shot came out. It's a trivial subject, but I think it shows how the Solinar can perform when you get things right.

 

Burgers and Dogs, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

I'll wrap this up with some shots of an activity that caught my eye - window washers on the gigantic curved glass structure where I work.

 

Spring Cleaning #1, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

These shots were easy, since there was plenty of light and I could shoot at about f11. Of course, the guys working on the glass wondered why this crazy guy with an old camera was taking picture of them.

 

Spring Cleaning #2, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

Spring Cleaning #3, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

I like ths shot above especially. I like how you can see the guy on the left clearly, while the guy on the right has made an interesting pattern of cleaner on the window in front of him.

 

Spring Cleaning #4, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

The fact is, this little folder is capable of making some nice images. I really like how the Solinar lens represents color. With a maximum aperture of f3.5, applications in low light are very limited. In today's word, f3.5 seems so slow. However, the truth is that a wider aperture would make guess focusing even harder, due to the reduced depth of field that would result.

 

I actually had trouble finding the right circumstances to shoot this camera last month. It's not that there aren't plenty of places this camera does fine in; there are just many more where a little more aperture, or some type of focusing aid would have made it more useful. So, I found that I couldn't really rely on this camera to be anything like general purpose. I made it a point to carry it all month, but found limited opportunities to use it.

 

In May, I'm shooting my Minolta Autocord. This is also an f3.5 camera, but has the benefits of the big 120 medium format negative, and gorgeous ground glass focusing capability. We'll see if I can get more use out of that.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet - April's Camera - The Agfa Solinette II

Agfa Solinette II, April's Skeletons From The Closet Camera

 

April's camera is the Agfa Solinette II, a 35mm folding camera from the 1950s. I actually have two of these - the one pictured above with an Apotar 50mm f3.5 lens, and another with the higher end Solinar 50mm f3.5. I decided to shoot with the Solinar this month.

 

This is a guess focus camera, with no type of rangefinder for estimating distance. There's no battery or meter, either. The Solinette is a very basic, sturdy little camera. Both of mine look like brand new. I think I got both of them on eBay, for around $25 each.

 

Another month with a guess focus camera is challenging for me. Let's see what I can do.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet - March's Camera, the Zeiss Ikonta in the California Desert

Here are some results from March's Skeletons From The Closet (SFTC) camera, the Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 folding medium format camera.

 

(Click Here) to read my post describing this camera.

 

You may have seen my post from a few days back, sharing some pictures I took in the California desert with my Lumix DMC-G3. (Click Here) to see that post.

 

I also shot my Ikonta on that trip, and here are some results. I used Fuji Reala color print film, which gives wonderful muted colors. I find it a refreshing way to shoot the desert, which is typically overdone saturation-wise, in my opinion.

 

Wooden Bones, by Reed A. George

Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 Medium Format Folder with Tessar Lens

Fuji Reala Film

 

Palo Verde, by Reed A. George

Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 Medium Format Folder with Tessar Lens

Fuji Reala Film

Cloudy Desert Morning, by Reed A. George

Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 Medium Format Folder with Tessar Lens

Fuji Reala Film

Ryan Ranch, by Reed A. George

Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 Medium Format Folder with Tessar Lens

Fuji Reala Film

Quiet Corner in Palm Springs, by Reed A. George

Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 Medium Format Folder with Tessar Lens

Fuji Reala Film

 

So, how was using the Ikonta during the month of March? It was delightful! I really enjoy the image quality from this old camera. It is in such great condition, I feel that I'm getting the same type of results that the camera could have provided new - maybe better, since film technology has advanced so far since the 1950s.

 

There are some difficulties, however. For one thing, two out of three rolls I've shot so far have been loosely wound onto the takeup spool. I'm not sure why this is happening, but some of the exposures on the roll shown partially here were affected by light leaking down the edges of the backing film, as it didn't wind tightly onto the takeup spool. I've shot two more rolls since then - the first was fine, but the second also came off loose. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no light leaked in. Look for more results in a week or so, when my negatives come back from The Darkroom.

 

Other than that, just the "normal" challenges of manual light metering and guess focus. I think guessing the focus distance is the most difficult thing. You can see in the last shot here that I don't always get it just right.

I use a do it yourself card that uses your own stereovision (the fact that your eyes are spaced apart from each other, which allows you to judge distance) to estimate distance. If you have a guess focus camera, you need to make one of these.

 

(Click Here) for a website that helps you to make your own rangefinder card.

 

I made mine double-sided, with distance in feet on one side, meters on the other. I carry this card in my wallet, so it's always with me. Great tool.

 

So, it was a blast shooting the Ikonta in March. But, back into the closet she goes! I'll keep practicing my exposure and focus guessing in April, when I'll be shooting an Agfa Solinette folding 35mm camera. I'll be introducing that camera soon in a new post. Stay tuned.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com